3 weeks in with the squier sonic stratocaster

Some people think I keep all the guitars I've ever bought. Not true. The personal rule I've been using for years is for any new guitar that comes in, one must go out. If I didn't do that, I'd have a big pile of guitars that would never get played.

So it's been 3 weeks in with the Squier Sonic Stratocaster. The guitar is technically still within the return window period, so I could return if it I wanted. Will I? No, I'm keeping it, because it is the good "happy place" guitar I was looking for. Very familiar, very comfortable. Like I said recently, this guitar is home to me.

I've come to realize something in owning this guitar that I'm still trying to wrap my head around.

I absolutely have no desire to own a Fender anymore.

Does this have to do with price? I'll answer that in a minute.

I feel no magic with Fender branded guitars anymore. There is absolutely no guitar they make where I feel even a passing interest in it.

Part of this has to do with the fact I've met all the heroes, so to speak. This included what was formerly a dream guitar of mine, the 1969 Fender Stratocaster. At the time I strummed on a real-deal one back in 2022, it was selling for $18,500.

Why is it no longer a dream guitar? Simple answer, I held and played it. I met the hero. As the old saying goes, don't meet your heroes. Well, I did, felt the CBS cheapness of the time it was made and said well, that's that. Nice to see one and experience it, but like hell if that thing is worth 5 figures.

Then Squier released the redesigned Affinity Stratocaster that absolutely has that late-'60s/early-'70s big CBS headstock, and I bought one. Had my fill of that, then traded it out later. No desire to go back to the big headstock since, even if it still does look cool as hell.

Also throughout the years I've picked up and played (but not bought) a bunch of different Fenders, with the most recent being a boat-anchor-weight '79. Prior to that, a brand new Player II in British Racing Green.

Not once have I ever felt the magic playing any Fender I picked up, new or old. There has never been an instance where I tried one and regretted not buying it later.

However, that has happened with Squier. One of my sorta/kinda regrets was not buying a Squier Classic Vibe Stratocaster years ago that was discounted deep because of its color, Burgundy Mist, with color matched headstock. Absolutely nobody wanted it. That thing was in the store for weeks, had dust on it, but was new. Everybody gave it a miss because of the color. When I played it, it was one of those ultra rare instances where the guitar played and sounded great in the store, but I didn't commit to it. Why? It was actually the headstock that turned me off the most. A gold Squier logo on a purple headstock was doing nothing for me. Were it a silver logo, I'm pretty sure I would have committed and bought it.

And there was one other sorta/kinda regret that was much more recent. Playing a Squier Sonic Stratocaster HT in Arctic White and not getting it. White-on-white Strats with maple fingerboard usually look weird, but not that one. Since the neck on the Sonic I have now is the same goodness that was on that HT, I really don't feel any regret passing on that one. Well, maybe a little, but I'll get over it.

Oh, and I did find out something else recently. Not a regret but a possible future buy. I've not tried this one yet, but Squier does have a Classic Vibe HT in Surf Green. Never seen one in person because not too many guitar stores carry it, but I'm sure that's a great player.

That CV HT is a great example of how Squier has got the stuff where I think yeah, cool, I'd love to have that guitar. I get genuinely excited. There's some actual magic there. But for Fender, I feel nothing...

...and this is where I talk about price.

I have tried, many times, to like Fender. This is why I keep trying out guitars made by them. In the back of my mind, whenever I pick one up, I'm thinking, "Okay. This will be the The One and it's totally gonna happen this time", and... nope. Disappointed again. Then I see the price tag. "They want four figures FOR THIS?!" Back on the hanger it goes.

If the Fender had the look, feel, sound and most importantly the magic, as in that thing that makes you want to play guitar in the first place, then it would be worth it. But it doesn't.

Sure, I'll still try a Fender here and there whenever I'm in a guitar store, because why not. But these days, I only do it just because FeNdEr, OoOoOOoo AaAaAhh, play for a minute or two, get disappointed, see the price tag, feel disgust, and then I buy a Squier that looks right, feels right, sounds right, is priced right, and go home happy. That's the routine.

It's almost like I need to be reminded periodically why not to buy Fender brand.

And in all honesty, it's not really an issue of how much a Fender is. If the Fender had the magic, then a four-figure price tag would be truly be a small price to pay to get it. But that magic just isn't there.

Then I pick up the cheapest Strat Squier makes and whammo, there's the magic I was looking for.

Why do certain Squiers like the Sonic have the magic for me and not Fender? It's not just the low price, although that is a factor and I'd be lying if I said it wasn't. The larger factor (in fact, much larger) is guitar playing life experience.

Given how many electric guitars I've owned over the years, at this point I know well in advance what would annoy me with just about any guitar on the wall at the guitar store before even touching it. I may write something up about that later and probably will.

In the end, the Sonic is good and it's staying with me.

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